I suppose I'm pretty neutral on the subject, but does it bother you when people do different outfits for characters?

Like, when someone does a lolita outfit or a rave outfit, for someone like, Kairi from Kingdom Hearts? Or any character for that matter.

Just curious. :)

Kitylin

12-25-2009, 08:44 PM

Honestly, and this is going to make me sound like a prick, but it can bother me. It can bother me a lot, honestly, when I see like "Lolita Roxas" or "Sexy Link". I just don't really understand it--I kinda stare like "lolwut?" I know that I have no say in what others can or cannot dress up as, but it is kind of my pet peeve. :/ I know it's strange, but it just kind of gets to me, I guess.

Tabby-chan

12-25-2009, 08:51 PM

it doesnt bother me, but im not a fan of it so i suppose im neutral also.

alexeatspants

12-25-2009, 08:51 PM

Honestly, and this is going to make me sound like a prick, but it can bother me. It can bother me a lot, honestly, when I see like "Lolita Roxas" or "Sexy Link". I just don't really understand it--I kinda stare like "lolwut?" I know that I have no say in what others can or cannot dress up as, but it is kind of my pet peeve. :/ I know it's strange, but it just kind of gets to me, I guess.

Yeah, that does get kind of old. I mean, if they are well done it's fine.
But I honestly don't to see Link in a mini skirt.

FLIPINOMAD

12-25-2009, 08:56 PM

Not not really, cosplay is for everyone, if they want to do it let them, course we have our opinions but we have to respect their choice.

Braithcakes

12-25-2009, 08:59 PM

I see it as no different than the people who make formal outfits for their cosplays...

as long as it's a design and not someone throwing on a neon shirt and being like "OMG I KEPT MY WIG ON SO THAT MEANS SORA IS NOW A RAVE SORA" or something dumb like that :P

alexeatspants

12-25-2009, 09:04 PM

I see it as no different than the people who make formal outfits for their cosplays...

as long as it's a design and not someone throwing on a neon shirt and being like "OMG I KEPT MY WIG ON SO THAT MEANS SORA IS NOW A RAVE SORA" or something dumb like that :P

Hahaha, that is one thing that drives me insane!

alpha_helix

12-25-2009, 09:17 PM

I see it as no different than the people who make formal outfits for their cosplays...

as long as it's a design and not someone throwing on a neon shirt and being like "OMG I KEPT MY WIG ON SO THAT MEANS SORA IS NOW A RAVE SORA" or something dumb like that :P

I agree completely! I actually like seeing new takes on characters if it's something that had effort put into it--steampunk Boba Fett is one of my faves--but just throwing some rave stuff (or what have you) together just looks lazy.

CliffnCain

12-25-2009, 09:18 PM

As long as you have fun and don't ruin it for others then it doesn't bug me but if your one of those jerks that like to take it 5 steps over board and kill it for people then yeah it does.

Chergnomebyl

12-25-2009, 09:24 PM

As long as you have fun and don't ruin it for others then it doesn't bug me but if your one of those jerks that like to take it 5 steps over board and kill it for people then yeah it does.

I agree. It's nice to see people turn characters to steam punk, school clothing, pajamas and such. But taking it to a point where there is no effort in anything just the effort to think it's cool is bothersome for me. i do not approve of sloppy cosplayers. Save it for Halloween. I love seeing people who put in 110% on their costumes then 1%.

Mangochutney

12-25-2009, 09:30 PM

Doesn't bother me at all (with the exception of raver variants which I heartily dislike based on personal experience and irrational prejudice), but I don't care much about it either. Unless I know the person wearing it, variants don't get a second look.

However, variants chosen specifically for the purpose of turning a costume to 11, that's another story. If you did something that's over-the-top and awesome on its own merits, like, say, Cosmonaut Sora? That's worth caring about.

CliffnCain

12-25-2009, 09:42 PM

I agree. It's nice to see people turn characters to steam punk, school clothing, pajamas and such. But taking it to a point where there is no effort in anything just the effort to think it's cool is bothersome for me. i do not approve of sloppy cosplayers. Save it for Halloween. I love seeing people who put in 110% on their costumes then 1%.

Agreed.

audrey12345

12-25-2009, 11:04 PM

I think it's fine, depending on the costume.

13Kai-Kai

12-25-2009, 11:25 PM

I believe that if there is obvious effort put into the costume and it's well thought out then it's really neat, but if there's no effort whatsoever put into the outfit it will bother me.

~FatalDreams~

12-26-2009, 02:31 AM

As long as the design of the outfit is thought out, preferably home made, and displaying the character properly, then I don't mind at all. In fact, the more unique the design is, the more I like to see something like that.

And no, creating a rave outfit for a character at Hot Topic does NOT CUT IT. Effort people, it shows. Designers, make it work.

Katzyn

12-26-2009, 12:43 PM

I, personally, don't think I'm cut out for altering a character like that just yet, but I LOVE to see a well done one - I love seeing people's creativity at work! And I totally agree, I don't -want- to see a sloppy "oh, let's just throw THIS on, and viola~" piece...I'm not going to think badly about it, but I'm not going to impressed.

CapsuleCorp

12-26-2009, 02:57 PM

maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. The real question is: why should you care whether it bothers me?

skythefairae

12-26-2009, 03:32 PM

I agree pretty much with all this. I think it's interesting to see people creatively put characters in alternate costumes. Just as long as it's, as earlier stated, "not put together lazily".

Squishy Blob

12-26-2009, 04:08 PM

A good cosplay is a good cosplay to me, and like people have said, if it's well designed, and fits the characte to a certain extent, then I see nothing wrong with it.

Yukari Kaiba

12-26-2009, 05:31 PM

I don't mind it really, but its neat to see an alternate version someone's done that was really thought out and executed well. A few of my friends and I did Arrancarized versions of the Bleach characters we normally do and really thought out what we felt they would wear if they were actually Arrancar (like I slightly based my design off of Renji's bankai outfit with some modifications). We got a pretty good response to it :)
so for me, if the idea is really thought out and its not lazily put together, some alternate versions of characters that aren't necessarily canon i think can look pretty good.

J Ryoga

12-26-2009, 05:49 PM

If the character is still recognizable, and if the outfit looks as though some actual thought was put into it (in other words, not completely random), then I have no problem with it. When done right, it's cool to see people come up with different outfits for characters. Many many factors are involved though, so it's not as simple as that. A good rule of thumb of course, is for the new outfit to maintain the same or similar color schemes or patterns as the original. My friends talked me into doing "Punk Riku" based on his Kingdom Hearts 1 attire, so I searched high and low for clothes that came very close to it. And I kept the Soul Eater sword with me while wearing it so there would be no doubt in anyone's minds.

alexeatspants

12-26-2009, 06:42 PM

maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. The real question is: why should you care whether it bothers me?

Just curious on what other cosplayers thought of it.

Tif9123

12-26-2009, 07:39 PM

Sometimes it does bother me and sometimes it does not, If someone does their own creation like Amano, or a christmas character for a holiday, I think that's pretty cool. But if someone ever did sexy Link or sexy Roxas that would annoy me a bit.

Bobbi

12-26-2009, 08:58 PM

It doesn't bother me at all. Cosplay should be fun. And if someone is having a good time in their outfit whether it's thrown together closet cosplay or well-designed costume, more power to them. :3

I do however enjoy seeing them when there's a great deal of thought, design, and planning as well as excellent construction. But I don't really think less of people anymore for just having fun being their favorite character.

EgnirysFaye

12-26-2009, 11:00 PM

I also agree that it can look really nice if it is done well.

Like this year, there was a group of Xmen cosplayers...but they were steampunk. Their costumes looked AMAZING! Really beautifully done.

I do have to admit though, sometimes if it is just purely out of laziness (And still expect a bumload of attention and compliments) or completely sexified, then it can be annoying.

HMTQ - Madge

12-26-2009, 11:26 PM

Eh... sometimes. Like if people try to turn normally modest/normal cosplays into something risque, it does get annoying. Mostly because a lot of times it turns out distasteful, and it's just unoriginal in general.

Other than that, as long as the people put effort into it and the character is still recognizable, I really don't mind at all.

MDA

12-27-2009, 12:12 AM

I see it as no different than the people who make formal outfits for their cosplays...

as long as it's a design and not someone throwing on a neon shirt and being like "OMG I KEPT MY WIG ON SO THAT MEANS SORA IS NOW A RAVE SORA" or something dumb like that :P

I agree with this 100%

I myself have made alternate versions for Roxas, and working on alternates for Rider and Neuro, so it's no different from people going and making all the alternate versions for Sora of Kingdom Hearts. As long as they fit with the character, who really cares?

ibrahimpeasnell

12-27-2009, 06:03 AM

For me I'm generally neutral for this idea, but IMO as cosplay is about having fun, I really more supportive then disaproving. I've sort of done this as I cosplayed V for Vendetta, but did this cosplay of V in a suit at Amaranth in Australia in 2009, and I thought that I pulled it off quite well. Heck even the Joker from the Dark Knight showed up!

Cosplay_Rose

12-27-2009, 07:09 AM

Same as most people here, I like them if done well, dislike them if they're lazy, but I'm that way about any costume. Part of it depends on the situation a little too. For example, Christmas or Halloween variants make more sense around Christmas or Halloween.

I'm making a raver version of my Amaterasu (Okami) costume for Fanime, because I want to wear that costume the day I want to go to the rave, but it would be REALLY hard to dance in, so I'm wearing the "real" costume during the day and switching out some parts (shoes, mask, etc.) before heading to the rave.

TR Rose

12-27-2009, 10:49 AM

I like seeing variants when:
~ Effort is put into making them. Not "I didn't feel like making the actual costume so here's a wig and random clothes out of my closet".
~ You can tell who the character is supposed to be. Meaning the variant makes some sort of sense for who the character is.
~ It's appropriate for the situation. For example, formal version for a fancy dance event, or the amazing Christmas-themed costumes that people put together for Yule-con every year. I love seeing those when they're done well because they put a unique spin on characters that may have been done many times in the past.

I personally don't care for tarted-up/SnJ versions of characters, or things like "random catgirl" versions of characters. But that just means I'm not going to take their picture.

Kiichigo

12-27-2009, 05:01 PM

Let's take an example:

ANBU-versions of Narutocharacters do not bother me.

SexyNoJutsu-ANBU-Hokage.Neko-versions of Narutocharacters bothers me. Why? Because it screams "Let's combine all our ideas and be lazy!"

A really good example of altered-cosplays are the lolita-versions of Narutocharacters that some people from Koicosplay did. It was welldesigned, recognisable (Kakashi still wearing his mask, keeping with the colours of the respective characters etc. etc) and still very creative.

SuperMoyashi365

12-27-2009, 06:16 PM

i have no problem with it whatsoever =) just as long as there looks like there iz effort put in there, like other people have said before. like if someone decided "i'm gonna cosplay as Naruto in regular clothing" i would think that was a totally cool idea as long as it actually LOOKS like the character would actually wear it and it doesn't look like you just threw on your regular t-shirt and jeans

Cosplay_Rose

12-28-2009, 05:54 AM

i have no problem with it whatsoever =) just as long as there looks like there iz effort put in there, like other people have said before. like if someone decided "i'm gonna cosplay as Naruto in regular clothing" i would think that was a totally cool idea as long as it actually LOOKS like the character would actually wear it and it doesn't look like you just threw on your regular t-shirt and jeans

"Naruto" in a Naruto graphic tee, jeans, and a headband, no binding, with black lines drawn on her face, entering the costume contest and "challenging" other Narutos. claiming her costume was better. That's what that reminded me of :( That would've been a sad day, but I won that costume contest, and it was my first win, sooo >_> Good day. Almost ruined by an annoying "variant" Naruto. THOSE are the kind I absolutely will not tolerate.

SuperMoyashi365

12-28-2009, 10:48 AM

"Naruto" in a Naruto graphic tee, jeans, and a headband, no binding, with black lines drawn on her face, entering the costume contest and "challenging" other Narutos. claiming her costume was better. That's what that reminded me of :( That would've been a sad day, but I won that costume contest, and it was my first win, sooo >_> Good day. Almost ruined by an annoying "variant" Naruto. THOSE are the kind I absolutely will not tolerate.

that iz really annoying... if sumone does something sloppy like that but just hangs around the con i dnt have a problem, but if they think their cosplay iz better than everyone else's then that's a problem =\ meant to make that point in my last post

Pokeboy

12-28-2009, 03:48 PM

I think its funner that way! I mean you see the normal character enough! "Sexy Lee" and "Rave Sora" just make things more interesting!

SH4M3

12-28-2009, 04:38 PM

As long as they do it well it doesn't bother me.
It only bothers me if people say like oh I'm gonna be a sexy version and make it a belly shirt or low cut or a shorter skirt, when it's really not needed.

Cosplay_Rose

12-29-2009, 02:47 AM

that iz really annoying... if sumone does something sloppy like that but just hangs around the con i dnt have a problem, but if they think their cosplay iz better than everyone else's then that's a problem =\ meant to make that point in my last post

Yup, exactly. If she had just been wearing the graphic tee and headband with lines on her face, I would've just thought "Oh, cool, she's expressing her fandom," but she was a general pain about it.

On another note, what do you all think about "combining" one character's different outfits. Example: I like a lot of Yuuko's outfits from xxHolic (and she does have a lot of different outfits), but a lot of the time, I think "Oh, I like this shirt with these pants" or the like.

SuperMoyashi365

12-29-2009, 10:15 AM

On another note, what do you all think about "combining" one character's different outfits. Example: I like a lot of Yuuko's outfits from xxHolic (and she does have a lot of different outfits), but a lot of the time, I think "Oh, I like this shirt with these pants" or the like.

i think that would be a cool idea to mix the outfits! although some pple might not notice the difference between the mix you chose and what the charater actually wore in canon unless you told them they were from separate outfits

Cogetas

12-29-2009, 10:29 AM

It doesn't bother me at all. Cosplay should be fun. And if someone is having a good time in their outfit whether it's thrown together closet cosplay or well-designed costume, more power to them. :3

I agree. If I see a costume I don't care for, I just move on. It never occurred to me that I should critique people's costumes to determine how much 'effort' they put into it :lost:

VendettaCode

12-29-2009, 03:30 PM

My two-cents...

It depends. I'm weird when it comes to this. XD A Lolita version wouldn't bother me, as long as it coincided with the character. EX Like the Lolita Roxas mentioned earlier, if the dress had keys on it or something (or sea-salt ice cream <3), I could understand.

I absolutely LOVE well-done Steampunk cosplays. Well-done meaning to me that you didn't just throw on a bunch of flashy thing and make a pair of gear-covered goggles and say "Oh I'm Steampunk so-and-so." If you really matched some Steampunk stuff to your character, I will love you forever.

I think joke costumes are fun. Something done for laughs. I can't think of an example right now. XDD

Like mentioned before, keeping your wig on and changing into a neon shirt doesn't make you a Rave Sora (to me at least). If you don't want to cut your hair or buy a wig and you're cosplaying Naruto, please don't tell me you're a Sexy no Jutsu Naruto. Just tell me you didn't want to cut your hair or buy a wig.

By all means, I really am not going to hate someone that does something I don't like. They're doing their thing. I respect that. But I'm not going to ask for a picture.

Novinha

12-29-2009, 03:38 PM

Not really. It's not as impressive, but it can be fun.

Riiko Izawa

12-29-2009, 03:39 PM

Uhm. I like it to an extent.

I don't like people's fascination with throwing on clothes from their closet that look hardcore and go around saying, "look! now I'm the street version of so-and-so!" and I'm just as dislike-ful (is that a word?) towards the people that throw together random stuff and go like "now I'm rave so-and-so!" (unless, of course, it's actually for the dance - I like seeing that) but not to walk around in the con in.

But on the same note, if obvious creativity and thought was put into it, I like it. For example, I like a lot of pajama!outfits and swimsuit!outfits, because some people take the time to think what the character's pajama/swimsuit outfit would actually look like and MAKE it, yknow? not just throw random things out of their closet and call it a day. I also like some of those lolita/maid/etc. outfits of characters because they can be humourous, and I don't see a problem with it. And for example, I've seen a lot of people do original designs for Chii from Chobits, and the dresses look gorgeous/cute, so it just makes me all '>w<' at how cute their costume is rather than being all "pffffft, I've never seen a picture of Chii in that ever". But Chii's really a character where you can have creative freedom outfit wise and still be recognizable and adorable.

Now, if a Sora walked up wearing a skirt and a shirt out of nowhere and being like "LOL LOOK AT ME LOST A BET!" I probably wouldn't find it all that amusing.

But I saw a Valentines Day version (I believe? I dont remember.. I just remember the outfits/keyblades were pink) of Riku, Kairi, and Sora, and I loved that.

So I guess I'm iffy about it, but it depends on the situation.

And now I'm finally done rambling ~

nebula_sprout

12-29-2009, 05:07 PM

I agree with what a lot of people have said. If it's well constructed, I will probably appreciate it. I also think it is important to take into consideration what the character would wear. For instance, if I see a Naruto cosplayer who made some sort of formal-wear costume that was, say, a suit that was nicely buttoned and whatnot, that would not seem right to me-- he's a sloppy character, his tie would be undone, shirt unbuttoned, etc. It's that sort of thing that I think it very important. Just because you are making an original design doesn't mean you can ignore being in character.

Pawpee

12-30-2009, 04:10 PM

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Arakni666

12-30-2009, 04:22 PM

I actually like alternate cosplays- but only as long as there is effort put into it. I like designing my own outfits, as you can likely tell from my signature. But I'm not going to go to AB with no binding and wearing regular clothes, and claim I'm America or England. Because honestly, I'd have boobs. Really.

I agree with the Sexy-no-Jutsu thing though. That does get annoying.

liivingdeadgirl

12-30-2009, 04:41 PM

It bothers me SOMETIMES. Mostly when they just use it as a main cosplay during the middle of a convention. I think it's more acceptable when it's for your own amusement like if you wanted to do a crack photoshoot or pj party or something. My friends and I went as Team 7 ravers just because we wanted the funny pictures, but we did this FOR the rave, not as actual cosplays. It mostly just bothers me when people wear it as a main cosplay and except you to go 'ohh look at that, itsn't it awesome!' when it's just someone in a loli dress with a naruto headband. >_<

ShadowsOfSora

12-30-2009, 04:45 PM

It all depends on how well it is done. The costume could express a lot of creativity, if the time and effort is put into it, but if it is just a cheaper alternative to the actual cosplay outfit, then you might as well not bother.